1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of gas and liquid contact apparatuses and temperature and humidity measuring instruments. More particularly, the present invention relates to a humidifier and digital hygrometer/thermometer device for use with a stringed, musical instrument for which the humidity surrounding and within the instrument needs to be maintained to within a specifiable, instrument-warranty level.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most modern stringed instruments are made of wood. One of the limitations of wood as a material is that it is affected by changes in atmospheric humidity. Increased humidity can cause the wood in the instrument to expand. Decreases in humidity can cause the wood of the instrument to contract.
Research has shown that relative humidity less than 40% can remove water from the wood in the instrument. These changes will affect the tone of the instrument. These changes can also cause the material of the instrument to fail, especially if the wood in the instrument contracts and thereby risks cracking or splitting joints between pieces of wood. In the event that the wood cracks or joints split, the instrument is rendered inoperable.
All musicians are aware of the danger of humidity changes to their instrument and many will use some type of especially-designed-for-use-with-musical-instruments humidifiers to try to control the humidity levels around and within their instruments. Such humidifiers include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,407,700, 5,289,751, 5,829,452, 5,936,178, 6,244,432, 6,375,000, 8,087,645, and 8,220,782.
But, for these humidifiers to properly perform, they must be maintained; usually by periodically refilling them with water. However, these humidifiers generally do not come with any type of an indicator that warns their users of when maintenance needs to be performed on the humidifier.
Furthermore, to ensure the continuing proper care of such a musical instrument, one would ideally like a documented history of the environment to which the instrument has been exposed rather than just the instrument owner's random inspections of the instrument to assess its condition. For example, professional musicians frequently play in different venues and in traveling between such venues will, under the terms of their travel, have to surrender their instrument to others who will be responsible for its transport (e.g., the luggage handlers for an airline). In these circumstances, the instrument will usually travel for this period of transport in a different environment than the musician.
During this period, it would be helpful if the instrument were to travel with an instrumentation device that was capable of monitoring and periodically recording measurements of various variables (e.g., humidity and temperature) which would document the environment to which the instrument was exposed. Such a record could, for example, indicate whether the humidity and temperature levels surrounding the instrument were maintained to within the instrument's specified, instrument-warranty levels. In the event the instrument were to arrive at its destination in a damaged condition, this type of record could serve as documentation to provide a basis for a possible claim for the damages inflicted to the instrument against the transporter of the instrument.
Unfortunately, there is no single device currently on the market that: (a) acts like a humidifier to provide for the proper humidity levels in the environment surrounding his/her instrument, (b) informs the musician of when maintenance is due on the humidifier that the musician is using with his/her musical instrument, and (c) informs the musician of the environment to which his/her instrument has been exposed during the period when the musician has had to give it up for transport or storage. A need therefore exists for such a device for use with stringed, musical instruments.